Connecticut Attorney General, DEP Commissioner Announce Critical Court Victory Halting Islander East

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August 20, 2007 -- Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal and Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Commissioner Gina McCarthy today announced a landmark federal court ruling that effectively stops the proposed Islander East natural gas pipeline project.

The U.S. District Court in Bridgeport set aside a U.S. Secretary of Commerce decision - calling it "arbitrary and capricious" - that overruled Connecticut's objection to the proposed Islander East pipeline for failing to comply with the state's coastal zone management plan.

In a strongly worded decision, Federal Judge Stefan R. Underhill said the Commerce Secretary "failed to address an important aspect of (Connecticut's) problem" and "effectively ignored the adverse effects on oysters" when ruling that shellfish damage would be temporary.

The court said the Secretary failed to adequately explain or support his decision with data or evidence.

"This powerful and profoundly important decision should effectively kill Islander East," Blumenthal said. "The outcome confirms our essential point that the Commerce Secretary disregarded both hard facts and evidence in his illegal decision. For now - and hopefully forever - this decision means that we have conquered an environmental and economic catastrophe. We have protected against a project that is worst case and worst place for precious environmental interests - water quality in Long Island Sound, pristine coastal resources in the Thimble Islands, wildlife and aquatic systems that depend on this area. We are ready and willing to fight an appeal by Islander East. At stake is a national treasure.

"If there is truly a need for natural gas on Long Island, it can come from elsewhere through a pipeline placed elsewhere, avoiding devastating harm to both environmental and consumer interests.

"This decision is a critical blow to the Bush Administration's continuing campaign to enable environmental law breaking by special interests. Connecticut will continue to lead state coalitions against federal efforts to strip states of law-enforcement power against environmental destruction."

DEP Commissioner Gina McCarthy said, "Federal District Court Judge Underhill shared DEP's concerns that the damage caused by the pipeline route proposed by Islander East could be long-term. In fact, Judge Underhill noted that the Secretary of Commerce failed to offer any evidence that shellfish in the area would ever recover from the impact of construction. It is heartening to see that the court validated DEP's concerns about the location of the pipeline and its impacts on coastal resources while questioning the reasoning behind the Secretary's decision. At DEP we are very serious about our mission to protect and preserve Long Island Sound. We are very pleased the this federal court has upheld our Coastal Consistency Determination."

Islander East is seeking to construct a 45-mile natural gas pipeline - 22 miles of it beneath the Long Island Sound. The project would be sited among the Thimble Islands, which is a habitat for fish, crabs, urchins, snails, sponges, mussels, oysters, clams and scallops.

Connecticut ranks number one nationwide in the dollar value of its harvested oysters - and number one on the East Coast for clam production.

In addition to the coastal zone approval which was overturned by Judge Underhill, the Islander project also requires a water quality permit. That permit has been denied twice by DEP, and Islander East's appeal of the second denial, which was argued by Blumenthal on April 10 of this year, is pending decision in the U. S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.

Source: Connecticut Attorney General